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Unread 08-12-2012, 19:04   #1
AlexderFranke
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Default Sight from outside/Breathnú ó thaobh amuigh

I have been in Ireland a few times as an outlandish wayfarer and would like to point out what I have heeded within the Irish rail framework.

A good point is that cheapened online fares may be truly catched. In Germany, cheapened tickets are often quickly sold out before the time to buy before is run out. If you want to get a cheapened ticket, you have often to book a train more than one week before. In Ireland, cheapened tickets are well getsome.
Furthermore, cheapened fares are getsome for almost all trains between towns and cities other than DART and Cork outskirt trains. In Germany, there are some long routes with pricing alike DART without cheap tickets for
alone-wayfarers.


The Irish rail timetables have almost all the great lack of trains in the later evening. In many countries in Europe, there are trains on most routes up til midnight, on main routes even almost round the clokc. This is true not only for Irish trains, but for Bus Éireann as well. Trains every hour at the same minute are lacking, too, on most train links.

The pricing of online fares could be bettered. I have heeded that cheapened fares are almost only getsome on wayfares on routes to and from Dublin. For the sake of winning more wayfarers on train, truly cheapened tickets ought to be getsome for links between towns other than those that are on one route to and from Dublin. The prices for cheapened tickets ought to be set alone by the span of kilometres, for byspell 0 - 100 km = 10 € 100 - 200 km = 15 € and above 200 km = 20 € if booked 3 days before. This will get more wayfarers into the trains who would otherwise go by bus only.

I have heeded that fares to Kerry and Cork are outstandingly high game off against other wayfares on train. Before, there were 10 € off-peak tickets from and to Kerry and Cork, too. But now, only 25 € tickets are getsome. I wonder why? Why did they not keep 10 € tickets on off-peak trains on all routes?

Alex
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Unread 09-12-2012, 00:02   #2
Colm Moore
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Hi, welcome to the board.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexderFranke View Post
getsome
I'm not sure what this word means, do you mean "available"?

Quote:
wayfarers
= "routes" or "passengers"?

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexderFranke View Post
The Irish rail timetables have almost all the great lack of trains in the later evening. In many countries in Europe, there are trains on most routes up til midnight, on main routes even almost round the clokc. This is true not only for Irish trains, but for Bus Éireann as well. Trains every hour at the same minute are lacking, too, on most train links.
There are a number of problems:
* Total population and population density is much lower here.
* Too many people live in the countryside compared to towns. As they would have to drive to the station to get a train, many just continue their journey by car.
* The car is seen as a status symbol and public transport is seen as something for the poor, students, etc. This means that those who make decisions in society are often married to their cars and see no incentive for facilitating public transport and every incentive for facilitating cars.
* For too long, public transport hasn't been run on a commercial basis.

Quote:
The pricing of online fares could be bettered. I have heeded that cheapened fares are almost only getsome on wayfares on routes to and from Dublin. For the sake of winning more wayfarers on train, truly cheapened tickets ought to be getsome for links between towns other than those that are on one route to and from Dublin.
The vast majority of passengers are coming or going from Dublin and less so the other cities. There is very little demand for travel between the other cities and between towns in one region to another region (other than to Dublin).


Quote:
The prices for cheapened tickets ought to be set alone by the span of kilometres, for byspell 0 - 100 km = 10 € 100 - 200 km = 15 € and above 200 km = 20 € if booked 3 days before. This will get more wayfarers into the trains who would otherwise go by bus only.
They have a team of people who study this. One issue is that children, students, young people, people with disabilities and pensioners have reduced fares or free travel already. This makes reduced fares slightly redundant.

Quote:
I have heeded that fares to Kerry and Cork are outstandingly high game off against other wayfares on train. Before, there were 10 € off-peak tickets from and to Kerry and Cork, too. But now, only 25 € tickets are getsome. I wonder why? Why did they not keep 10 € tickets on off-peak trains on all routes?
It may be that having lower fares didn't increase the number of customers enough to cover hte lower price.
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Unread 09-12-2012, 00:12   #3
Jamie2k9
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When the new online fares were interduced in June some routes gained and others lost. Eg Waterford-Dublin had 10 euro fares bookable 90 minutes before travel on some services. Now 21.99 is the 'cheepest. Can't say for all routes but this fare structure was the best thing to happen to Waterford line.

Kerry fares will always remain high as the train is the fastest mode of transport. I could be wrong but if GoBe and Aircoach take enough passengers from IE then you may see a more flexable fare structure on Cork route but I am not sure if there will be a major impact from the bus services.

There is no demand for the current level of services in some cases and most trains from 18.00 are ghost trains. IE are a loss making company and depend on state funding unlike most operators in Europe who are in profit. Motorways build over the last 6 years have had major impact on the company.

Bus Eireann have a much better of service during evenings and nights with most major towns having 24 hour service but the connection to the airport is keeping them viable and IE can't offer something like that.i
Another major problem for IE us the social welfare system which is in real need of reform and fraud stopped. Is there a system like this in Germany?

Last edited by Jamie2k9 : 09-12-2012 at 00:15.
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Unread 09-12-2012, 00:22   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamie2k9 View Post
Another major problem for IE us the social welfare system which is in real need of reform and fraud stopped. Is there a system like this in Germany?
To obtain a student / young person's ticket you need an annual card that you have to buy for perhaps €50. Pensioners may be allowed free travel, but only within their own region.
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Unread 09-12-2012, 00:36   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Colm Moore View Post
To obtain a student / young person's ticket you need an annual card that you have to buy for perhaps €50. Pensioners may be allowed free travel, but only within their own region.
Some changes are needed. Not sure about paying for an annual card, as it could do more harm than good.

OAP and people with disablites should be the only people with travel IMO and carrying a person for free needs to be stopped or the pay 50% of the fare, ID required all the time. Some staff are great for quizing young people but others are to relaxed about it. Agree about the regional travel and mabye an annual quota for attending appointments in Dublin etc.
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Unread 10-12-2012, 23:22   #6
AlexderFranke
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Well, in Germany, nobody has free wayfare on trains. Only folks with heavy bodily halts have free train wayfares. Others have to pay the ordinary fares. During the last years, they have begun to grant a bit lower fares for low-income folks in some swathes. Germans cannot dream of 25% of folks getting free wayfare on train. Those who have free wayfare due to heavy bodily halts make up perhaps 5% or less. The welfare framework in Germany has many lacks for the folks who need it. But the Irish should think about taking at least lowered fares from low-income folks, like setting 15 Euro as the highest for a two-way ticket or a fastened monthly fare for the whole train network. Free wayfare for many folks may lead to a view that forgets the costs for the framework and taking it for granted. In Germany, low-income folks can only rarely wayfare long stretches as the fare framework bethinks little those with low income.

Another shadow in Germany is the thing that the score of trains and trams has been heightened very much and dearbought goalworks in townish swathes within the last years. But this means many costs which again has lead to steadily heightened fares while lowered fares for low-income folks are in the very beginnings.

Yes, Ireland is thinner settled than Germany and other lands in Europe. On the other hand, the busses and trains in many lands on mainland Europe are making their way in a tougher network which means more work for the running business.

In Germany, there were rail lines with only a few trains a day, too. But when trains every hour were brought into work in the 90ies, the lots of wayfarers have manifolded. On some lines which have had since long trains every hour or more often, they have overdone with the morening of trains as I have said above.

The best byspell for very odd online fares is looking at those for, let´s say, Dublin to Galway and Galway to Kerry. For the first, there are tickets for 15 Euro, while for the latter, there are only tickets for above 50 Euro. This cannot be right. By laying the fares as to kilometer zones, this would not happen. Yes, I believe that some wayfarers would take the train for wayfares not from and to Dublin if they could get truly cheapened tickets for these links, too. This is true all above for tourists. When I had got a 10 Euro ticket for the train between Limerick Junction to Tralee, I had booked this train and moreover had bought an ordinary Galway to Limerick Junction ticket. But when Bus Éireann so much cheaper, I had not taken the train even if I like more to go on train. And I may not be the only one to handle it like this.

This would not be a mass of wayfarers, but better to get some folks into a train than nobody at all. Well, the former framework of 10 Euro offpeak fares is good to fill trains in offpeak times.

For steads farer from a train line, Ireland could learn from other lands in Europe and set up more bus lines linked to the train timetables and busses and line taxis by call for thinly settled spots. This will fill trains, too, and lessen wayburden jams in cities and towns. Some folks may give up their car if bus and train are cheaper and are going often enough.

I belive that trains in evening hours would well be filled if the timetables of all lines would be outstreched, let´s say, up to 11 p.m. on all lines. These trains could be run as one-unit trains for the sake to spare fuel.

I believe that Irish and German rail can learn from each other. German rail could better the getting of cheapened fares and set up lowered fares for all with low income as well as treeting all train wayfares above, let´s say, 30 km, as far-span link with far-span pricing with cheapened tickets. Irish rail could learn from German rail and others in Europe by setting up a framework of hourly and two-hourly trains on lesser brooked lines with busses and line taxis by call linking up with trains throughout the land.

Last but not least, a rail card as well for folks above 25 years would bring more wayfarers. This is working in other European lands quite well as way to bind customers.

Alex

Last edited by AlexderFranke : 10-12-2012 at 23:30.
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Unread 11-12-2012, 00:42   #7
Colm Moore
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wayfares = travel

wayfarers = travellers

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Unread 16-12-2012, 12:31   #8
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Google Translate does pretty well all the same!
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